Full Circle by Tania Gasparotto

When we find ourselves about to embark on a new adventure, we often stop to consider a few things: the impact this journey will have on our lives, on the lives of those around us, and perhaps more importantly, what the end result will look like. For most of us, our life’s journey is quite clear…we strive to forge a better version of ourselves. In these journey’s we come full circle with our decisions and the choices we’ve made with the hopes that we grow to our fullest potential. It’s easy to see things as we think they are, but have you ever wondered how other people see you? I’ve often wondered how the people around me, see me. How my friends see me, my family, but more importantly, how my children see me, and in trying to wrap my head around this I realized that through the eyes of my daughter, I am gifted with a new way of looking at the world around me. I am met with, albeit a smaller version of my own reflection, it is all the same, a version of my better self. We’ve come full circle, her and I…from Simply Blossoming to Simply Sprouting…and while our stories mean very different things for both of us, they both start with a mirrored beginning…a big comfy bed and…a Pretty Little Cookie…

Sitting on my bed with her, a familiarity fills the room. As she looks at my bags, laughs at the books scattered across my bedroom floor, her eyes meet mine and as if on cue, we both say…What are you thinking? “You go first,” she says with a smile cuddling up beside me, “I want to hear all about it!” The it she is referring to is my recent retreat with Simply Blossoming. As I look into her enchanting eyes, a deeper sense of connectedness envelopes me, and suddenly it all becomes clear…we’ve come full circle. Looking at her I realize just how deeply she inspires me to be a better person. To love with a wide open heart, to listen with open ears. She reminds me to be mindful and accept without judgement, to trust without fear. She is a constant in my life, always encouraging me to look beyond the obvious, beyond what’s right in front of me, to see all sides. I didn’t realise it until now, but every lesson I teach her, she in turn, without knowing it, teaches me something. She helps me remember what genuine laughter sounds like, what the world looks like through the eyes of a child…honest and pure, fun and exciting. Through her sounds I remember memories I have consciously or subconsciously locked away…her giggles are a string of fabulous melodies that shimmer throughout my soul, resonating there, they keep me moving in a forward direction even when life screams, STOP! She reminds me that with every problem I face there is a solution, possibly two, three, or more. She helps me see the good in others. And because she sees the good in me, she helps me see the good in myself. In encouraging her to try new things, I too end up trying new things. And so we sat, talking and laughing…together. I was able to share with her the connections that I had made with new friends on the retreat and how I solidified the bonds I had already formed in the previous years. I explained that even though I have a pretty solid sense of who I am as an individual, that my time away allows me to redirect my energy inwardly, and I relish in the opportunity to share openly and understand more deeply. Over these passed three years I have realized the importance of these connections, and that my experiences are not limited to one-off encounters but that they are forever changing and growing…and it was in that moment that I realized just how much this little soul sitting in front of me would garner if she too could begin to experience a journey like this one…

Sitting on her bed with her, a sense of newness fills the room. As she begins to unpack her bag, she pulls out a brand new journal and gently runs her fingers over each bead, each jewel. She takes out her new pencil case and smiles. I chuckle and as if on cue we say…What are you thinking? “You go first,” I say. As she opens her new fancy journal to a random page in the middle, she begins to read me what she wrote down on our drive home that day…

“Dreams Really Do Come True…It’s always good to believe in something because dreams do come true. Here’s how my dream came true…Two years ago I remember sitting on my mum’s bed watching her unpack from her weekend at Simply Blossoming. I remember all of the journals she had out on her bed. As she was unpacking her clothes I saw the best thing ever…a pretty little cookie. This cookie got us talking about what Simply Blossoming was and what she did while she was away. I remember my mum telling me about all of the friends she made and all of the fun things she did with her new friends. This got me thinking….and then I told her I can’t wait until it’s my turn to go and that maybe she could ask Laurel and Cathy if they could do one for girls because it sounded like so much fun! Two years later, on January 17th 2015 my dream came true…I was driving in the car with one of my best friends, on our way to our very first Simply Sprouting one day retreat. I remember feeling excited and so happy. When we got there it was like we were in a little cozy cabin in the woods far away from home. It was so pretty. My day was so exciting, I made lots of new friends. The women there were so nice and they had the best smiles. One of the things I really liked is that we spent the day doing so many different things. We went for walks in the woods, we learned about all of the things that make us sparkle, we sat together in a circle and learned how to use our voices and how to breathe properly, we learned all of the different ways to relax when we are feeling stressed, and we all got these very special sparkly journals to write our thoughts and feelings in – I’m going to keep my journal beside my bed because it’s so special to me. When my mum picked us up I was a little sad that we had to go. When I told her that I was sad she just smiled and said, “there will be another retreat in the spring.” I felt so happy. I learned so many things at the I Can Sparkle Too retreat. This retreat, along with some of the other workshops I have been doing, have really helped me. I can’t really explain it but, I just feel more confident and I feel really good about myself and I just LOVE meeting new friends and learning new things. If I had to tell you one thing I loved the most about this retreat it would be this…I love that when I was there I could just be myself, I mean really be ME…I can’t wait for My Magnificent, Magical ME!”

Post navigation

6 thoughts on “Full Circle by Tania Gasparotto”

This is a wonderful reflection and captures so much of the experience. I can’t wait to share Simply Sprouting with Delaney! Tania you have done it again inspired me and given me more to think about! Wow !!!! Wow!!! Wow!!!

I can no longer imagine your life without having writing. Your art of writing brings comfort to my soul. It is your spiritual requests with its personal melody in it. I am not able to say which piece you have written is my favorite, each has its unique upbeat rundown of the plot, I like all of them. Your natural, pure way of expressions and reflections gives food to my mind and feelings. Your children are the best inspiration of your life. Don’t stop and carry on!

Thank you so much Isobel for inviting me and making the Simply Sprouting retreat possible! It was an incredible experience for me. I learned that you should never try to be like someone else because everyone is great and unique in their own way. At the retreat I learned to love the great qualities about myself.
Now I believe I can do… ANYTHING!

Once again your writing was inspirational-not just to me but to my daughter as well. We both are looking forward to many more beautiful, uplifting stories written by yourself and your daughter. Loved the collaborative work! Awesome writing Isobel!